Currently, in the electronics manufacturing industry, there are a variety of automated systems and methods for testing and/or inspecting manufacturing defects in circuit assemblies (e.g., printed circuit boards, integrated circuits, etc.). For example, some circuit assembly manufacturers perform one or more of the following: automated x-ray inspection (AXI), automated optical inspection (AOI) and in-circuit testing (ICT). Regardless of the inspection/test method employed, many high-volume circuit assembly manufacturers employ a computerized system so that the operator(s) of the inspection/test system are able to provide an inspection schedule for the circuit assemblies to be processed. In this manner, the operator(s) are able to specify a particular order in which a large number of circuit assemblies will be loaded into the inspection/test system and tested. For example, an operator may generate the inspection schedule by entering a unique identification number (e.g., serial number) for the circuit assemblies to be loaded.
Although existing systems do ease the burden for an operator attempting to monitor the test/inspection process, these systems may be problematic for a number of reasons. For example, an operator may enter the circuit assembly identifiers incorrectly or in the wrong order. Furthermore, after the circuit assembly identifiers are entered, the order of the circuit assemblies waiting to be inspected may be altered or circuit assemblies may be removed. In these instances, the circuit assembly identifiers entered into the computerized system would be out of sync. This situation could potentially cause products to be untested and/or tested with an incorrect identifier. For instance, if the incorrect identifier is used when testing, a good assembly may be incorrectly repaired or a bad assembly could be passed on through the manufacturing line. In existing systems, when these types of situations occur, the entire inspection/testing system typically has to be halted in order to correct the problem. Furthermore, correcting these types of problems requires additional labor and equipment time.